In Country (1989)

A young girl whose father died in the Vietnam War becomes determined to find out more about him and his experiences.

Director:

Norman Jewison

Writers:

Bobbie Ann Mason (novel), Frank Pierson (screenplay)

Stars:

Emily Lloyd, Bruce Willis, Joan Allen

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bruce Willis	...	Emmett Smith
Emily Lloyd	...	Samantha Hughes
Joan Allen	...	Irene
Kevin Anderson	...	Lonnie
John Terry	...	Tom
Peggy Rea	...	Mamaw
Judith Ivey	...	Anita
Daniel Jenkins	...	Dwayne
Stephen Tobolowsky	...	Pete
Jim Beaver	...	Earl Smith
Richard Hamilton	...	Grampaw
Heidi Swedberg	...	Dawn
Ken Jenkins	...	Jim Holly
Jonathan Hogan	...	Larry
Patricia Richardson	...	Cindy

Storyline

Samantha Hughes, a teenage Kentucky girl, never knew her father, who died in Vietnam before she was born. Samantha lives with her uncle Emmett Smith, who also served in Vietnam. Emmett hangs around with Tom, Earl and Pete, three other Vietnam veterans who, like Emmett, all have problems of one kind or another, that relate to their war experiences. Sam, as Samantha is known, becomes obsessed with finding out about her father and his experiences, but Emmett and the other veterans don't want to talk about the war. Sam pushes everyone to attend a dance honoring the town's veterans, but Pete and Earl get into a fight, Emmett disappears, and Tom takes Sam home for an unsuccessful tryst. When Sam reads her father's diary, she begins to understand what his life and death meant, and with a trip to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, she and Emmett at least temporarily come to terms with the war in their lives.

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Plot Keywords:

vietnam war veteran | car | vietnam | memorial | vietnam war | 

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Taglines:

The story of a daughter's search for her father's past.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | War

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 September 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

Un héros comme tant d'autres

Filming Locations:

Lexington, Kentucky, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$18,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$36,505, 17 September 1989

Gross USA:

$3,531,971

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$3,531,971

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., Yorktown Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The movie premiered in the United States on Emily Lloyd's nineteenth birthday, on September 29, 1989.

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Goofs

In the opening scene where the Platoon Leader is marching in the Platoon you see his shirt has one too many buttons unbuttoned.

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Quotes

Dwayne: When I get back to the world, this will be a dream. But now, the world is a dream.

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Connections

Features The Green Berets (1968)

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Soundtracks

You Never Looked Better
Written by Jim Kimball, Steve Knox
Performed by Jim Kimball

User Reviews

Very true to Appalachia

While many of the comments here have voiced distaste for Emily Lloyd's performance, I've found it , along with the Grandmother, to be very true to Appalachia...I taught many, many students who talked like Sam, and had her personality traits.

The people of Appalachia built this country by working the coal mines and steel mills, and in a very real sense never benefited in the wealth they helped create. In Country brings this out, by telling the story of of some of these people. During the Vietnam War, the press many times focused on either the heroic volunteer, or soldiers from our city ghettos, and left out the stories of the many men from rural areas who made sacrifices.

After having the film on Laserdisc for some time now, I recently saw it priced on DVD for $6.00. It IS an underrated film, and I challenge anyone not to choke up in the final scenes at the Vietnam War Memorial,